Nationals Have Had 'Both Disheartening and Predictable' Season to This Point
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The Washington Nationals gave a good indication of what the 2025 MLB regular season would be with how they went about their business this past offseason.
Instead of making aggressive pushes for veterans such as third baseman Alex Bregman or first baseman Pete Alonso, they opted for short-term, stopgap solutions to fill most of the roster's holes.
If the Nationals were going to make any noise this year, it would be courtesy of the young players on their team flourishing.
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That has occurred in some fashion.
Left fielder James Wood has emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball. At only 22 years old, he is just scratching the surface of his potential but is already performing like an All-Star.
Shortstop CJ Abrams reached All-Star status in 2024 and has been productive as well, improving his numbers at the plate.
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On the mound, MacKenzie Gore has emerged as an ace to anchor the staff, leading the MLB in strikeouts and showing an improvement across the board.
Unfortunately for Washington, it has been the supporting cast that has come up short to help propel the team forward.
Their offseason additions of first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, designated hitter Josh Bell, third baesman Paul DeJong, starting pitchers Trevor Williams and Michael Soroka and relief pitchers Jorge Lopez, Lucas Sims and Colin Poche have not panned out.
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The relief pitching trio have all been designated for assignment. Lowe and Bell both have negative bWAR numbers. Williams hasn’t regained the form he showed during an excellent 2024.
Soroka has a positive bWAR with a 0.3, but spent time on the injured list. The same goes for DeJong, who will begin his rehab assignment this week.
As a result, the Nationals are just about in the same spot right now as they were in the preseason in the MLB power rankings shared by The Athletic (subscription required).
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Washington was No. 26 in the preseason and is currently No. 23 in the latest edition.
“Our preseason Power Rankings describe the Nationals as being “bound for a fourth-place finish, at best.”...Somehow, the Nats’ season has been both disheartening and predictable,” wrote Chad Jennings.
Arguably the biggest disappointment has been right fielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft who had yet to find his footing in the Majors.
He is key to this team getting out of a rut, and the pressure is one with some of the other players selected highly that year, such as Wyatt Langford with the Texas Rangers, already making an impact.
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